Fair Trade Commission Targets Local Government Competition-Restricting Regulations... Improved 149 Ordinances and Rules Last Year

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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Fair Trade Commission revealed that it improved 149 unreasonable regulations imposed by local governments last year.

On the 1st, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it improved 149 regulations among local government ordinances and rules last year that restricted market competition or harmed consumer interests. To promote competition in local markets and protect consumer rights, the Fair Trade Commission has been identifying the actual conditions of local government ordinances and rules and working with relevant local governments to improve regulations. The Fair Trade Commission explained that there are quite a few regulations that restrict competition because local governments prioritize the interests of businesses located in their regions when creating ordinances and rules.

After consultations with local governments, the Fair Trade Commission selected 171 ordinances and rules that restricted competition and consumer interests as improvement tasks last year. Among them, 149 regulations were improved by the Fair Trade Commission, resulting in an improvement rate of 87.1%. By type, 'harm to consumer interests' was the most common with 58 cases (38.9%), followed by 'discrimination against businesses' with 40 cases (26.8%), 'entry restrictions' with 39 cases (26.2%), and 'price restrictions' with 12 cases (8.1%).

Regulations that harm consumer interests refer to cases where local government ordinances and rules restrict consumer choices or cause financial losses to consumers. According to the Fair Trade Commission's investigation, 17 local governments including Seoul, Busan, Gyeonggi, and Sejong did not refund usage fees even when users canceled visits while operating public facilities such as museums and experience centers. Furthermore, the Fair Trade Commission judged that these local governments harmed consumer interests by not clearly and specifically stating the refund policies.

Discriminatory regulations against businesses refer to cases where local government ordinances and rules limit business competition methods or incentives, thereby reducing competition within the market. According to the Fair Trade Commission, six local governments including Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gwangju had discriminatory provisions that provided direct administrative and financial support to outstanding local companies. The Fair Trade Commission changed these provisions to indirect support that does not directly affect production costs.

Entry restriction regulations refer to cases where local government ordinances and rules limit the entry of certain products or services into the local market, reducing the number of businesses in the market. The Fair Trade Commission's investigation found that eight local governments including Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Chungbuk restricted the designation of water supply agents to businesses with main offices within the local government's jurisdiction. The Fair Trade Commission deleted these provisions.

The Fair Trade Commission stated that such regulatory improvements can promote competition in the local economy and enhance consumer welfare. This year, the Fair Trade Commission plans to select 196 improvement tasks for competition-restrictive ordinances and rules and improve them by the end of this year.

A Fair Trade Commission official said, "We will continue to discover competition-restrictive ordinances and rules to protect local market competition and improve them through consultations with local governments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.